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Nigeria expended N1. 6t on capital projects in 2 years, says Osibanjo

By John Akubo, Lokoja
14 February 2018   |   4:22 am
The Federal Government has increased capital expenditure to the tune of N1.6 trillion in two years.Vice President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday in Lokoja, at the maiden Kogi State economic and investment summit, said for the first time the Buhari administration has brought about a revolution in infrastructure.

Nigeria’s Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo

The Federal Government has increased capital expenditure to the tune of N1.6 trillion in two years.Vice President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday in Lokoja, at the maiden Kogi State economic and investment summit, said for the first time the Buhari administration has brought about a revolution in infrastructure.

“We have for the first time taken on the great changing infrastructure border, we are beginning the Lagos-Kano standard gauge rail beginning from the Lagos port in Apapa, we are also building the abandoned Mambila hydro project and also the second Niger bridge as well as the Lagos- Calabar rail project.”He said it is clear that the country has unbelievable potentials but the major issue that holds it back is corruption.

“This is what is responsible for the inconsistencies in policies and failure to complete most projects.”The vice president also said that the Buhari administration had supported the 36 states of the federation with N1.19 trillion as at September 2017.He said the funds were made available to enable the states meet the challenges of shortage of funds for the execution of programs in their respective states adding that the funds had enabled some state governments to embark on capital expenditures.

The Vice President also disclosed that the Federal Government has finally resolved all legal issues holding down Ajaokuta Iron and Steel Complex. He indicated that a technical audit of the steel complex is on and very soon it will be completed to enable the convening of investment summit.He said the Itakpe-Warri-Ajaokuta rail would be extended to Abuja so that the entire mining corridor is covered by rail. 

“When completed it would be a major rail line for movement of goods and services and people. In addition, we have also opened up the inland water ways for movement of goods.”

During the tenure of Boss Mustapha as Managing Director of NIWA, the river was dredged which has made Kogi an industrial and manufacturing hub.The Vice President stressed that government has created 4000 jobs through social investment programmes in the state.He said the summit came at the right time that the country was trying to reduce its dependence on oil and increase its non-oil income with the promotion of agriculture and the abundant solid mineral resources across the country.

The state Governor, Yahaya Bello, said the summit was packaged to change the identity of the 27-year-old state from a civil service state to an industrialised one.He said his administration had in the last two years prepared the ground for economic and industrial breakthroughs for the state by solving the problems that had been hindering economic growth in the state.

Bello said the state is now safe for investors and investments, adding that the problem of security had been tackled.The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, in his presentation, said the bulk of the revenue of Kogi State should be internally generated based on the abundant mineral resources in the state.

He however said mining was not a business that should be tied to the tenure of any executive, as it is a long-term investment that outlived the maximum two-term tenure of any executive.

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